Cover-all cap



Nov. 27, 19.28. 11,693,455

I A. MELDRUM COVER-ALL CAP Filed April 1, 1926 anoamto'c letdiitddhearner ALEXANDER nnrnnon, or sYraaousn, new roan, assrenon 'ro SMITH-LEEcom- PANY, INC., on enema, new roan, A CORPORATION or new roan.

V sown-ALL car.

Application filed April 1, 1926. serial NOJ 99,149.

This inventionrelates to bottle closures and more particuldrly tocover-all caps for of cover-all cap for bottles.

More partlcularly 1t 1s an object of this invention to provide acover-all --cap having means for causing the sameto'adhere to the neckof a bottle.

Another object of the present invention consists in the provision of acover-all cap which can be adhesively secured to a bottle neck andprovided with a tab adapted to be grasped to tear the cap loose from thebottle neck when it is desired toremove the same.

Bottles, such as those used in the delivery of milk, usually receive adisk-like cap within a counterbore near the top of the neck, which capis adapted to retain the contents within the bottle under -normalconditions. However, in the handling of such bottles and in theirdelivery they are subject to contamina tion and on windy daysconsiderable deposits of germ-laden dust may accumulate, not only on thecap, but around the edges of the neck of the bottle so that when thefluid is poured out after removing the cap it comes into contact withthis contaminated surface. To prevent this the present inventioncontemplates the provision of a neck enclosing cap formed of paper orlike material which may be placed over the bottle top and around theneck, covering the usual disk cap and all the portions of the neck whichit is desired to retain in a sterilized condition. Various means havebeen suggested for securing such caps, which are generally termedcover-all caps, in position ,on the'bottle neck but most of them involve theme of additional securing means such as resilient bands, paperstrips, crimped wire or the like. The resent invention avoids the use ofany a ditional securing ;,means. I y t .11: '2 For an understanding ofthe invention reference should be had to the accompanying drawing andfollowing specification wherein is disclosed a single exemplaryembodiment of the invention with the understanding, however, thatvarious and sundry changes maybe made therein without departing from thespirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

In said drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in vertical section, of the neckportion of a bottle having a cap constructed according to the presentinvention applied thereto; and

F'i ure 2 is a plan view of the blank from whic the cap is formed.

As illustrated 10 indicates the neck portion ofan ordinary bottle suchas used by dairies for containing and delivering milk and like fluids.Above the narrowest contracted portion 11 of the neck there is anexterior bead 12 reinforcing the top of'the bottle. The inner portion ofthe neck near the top is provided with a counterbore- 13 adapted toreceive the usual disk cap'14 which serves to retain the fluid withinthe container. lhe cap of the present invention is adapted to fit overthe top of the bottle and cap 14,- around the head 12 and down alongsidethe neck 11.

The cap may be formed of any suitable material such as paper, lightcardboard or other pulp, which may be treated with waterproof materialif desired. However, this is not considered to be necessary unless thecap is to be used without the disk 14. InYFigure 2 at 15 is shown theblank from which the cap is formed. It is substantially square in planwith the corners clipped as at 16. The cap may be creased or precrimpedbefore applying the same to the bottleneck, particularly if It isdesired that the crimps orv folds be in the form ofregular pleats allfacing in the same direction. However, it is not necessary gentialto theedges of the cap blank and -ap-- plied to but one side thereof. Thisadhesive ring is caused to adhere to the neck of the bottle just belowthe bead 21.2 by any suitable manner that if the adhesive should comenecks.

loose from the bottle the cap would neverthew lessbe necked in below thebead and could not be removed without mutilating .it.

It has been suggested heretofore to use v paraffin for the purpose ofcausing a cap to adhere to abo-ttle neck but this has a number ofdisadvantages. In the first place, it will not adhere to a bottle neckwhich is wet, as often happens when milk is slopped over the edgesduring the filling process; second, paraffin is not a good adhesive andthe cap must be tightly held in position until the paraffin hardens bycooling, thus resulting in -a slow operation; and thirdly, the parafiinisdiflicult to remove from the bottleneck during the washing process; Ithas been found that a gum is the most satisfactory article for securingthe caps to the bottle Such a gum must be water-soluble and quickdrying. It is referred, therefore, to use a water-solub e, quick drying,gum-like adhesive. It is water-soluble, and readily so, in order thatthe bottle necks may be readily cleaned after the caps have beenremoved. It must be quick drying so that the caps can be released almostinstantly by the crimpers after the cap has been crimped about thebottle neck. This point is particularly important in order to hurry thecap applying operation. The adhesive must have the property also ofadhering firmly to the bottle and yet permitting the cap to be' tornloose with facility.

The cap blank is substantially square in form in order to provide thetabs 18 formed by the paper between the outer limit of the adhesive ringand the corner of the cap, which tabs project downwardly alongside ofthe neck as shown in Figure 1, when the cap is applied to the bottle andcan be readily grasped by a person wishing to remove the cap. By liftingupwardly and outwardly on one of the tabs of the cap, it will be tornloose from the bottle neck and a band or strip will be torn across thetop or central portion of the cap dividing it into two parts which canthen readily be torn aside and downwardly to remove them from the bottleneck after which the disk-like cap can be removed in the usual manner.

lt'will thus be seen that the present in vention provides a cover or capwhich can be readily and quickly positioned on a bottle and which can beremoved with facility by the user. By virtue of being pasted down to thebottle neck it offers maximum protection against dirt and germs. Itcannot be removed by unauthorized persons without lea? 'ng anindication. By using a gum WlllClI is readily soluble in water thecleaning process at the dairy, before rebottling, remains the same asheretofore, for the application of a small quantity of warm waterimmediately softens the gum so that the remaining paper falls away fromthe bottle neck. The gum being soluble in water is not prevented fromadhering to the bottle neck in case it is wet with milk which has beenspilled over during the filling process.

bottle, said adhesive being of such character and quantity'as to causeadherence of the plaits to, in and of themselves, produce an operativebinding and sealing action, in the skirt of the applied cap, around thebottle neck without reliance upon rigidity of the paper or its adherenceto the bottle neck.

2. A bottle closureadapted for use by covering the mouthof a bottle andbeing plaited into a skirt around the neck thereof, and comprising asubstantially flat blank of pliable and nonrigid paper-like material ofconsiderable tensile strength, an adhesive which functions by wettingapplied to said blank on the inner surface of the intended plaits onlyon parts of the blank which are to be positioned below the mouth of thebottle, said adhesive being of such character and quantity as to causeadherence of the plaits to, in and of themselves, produce an operativebinding and sealing action, in the skirt of the applied cap,

around the bottle neck without reliance uponrigidity of the paper or itsadherence to the bottle neck.

3. The combination with a glass bottle having a head and a restrictedneck, of a cover-all cap formed of pliable, non-rigid, paper-likematerial of considerable tensile strength into a central portioncovering the bottle mouth and a skirt portion plaited around the neckand bead, adhesive on the inner surface of said skirt and plaits onlybelow the mouth of the bottle, the plaits being of such size and theadhesive of such character and quantity thereon as to provide sufiicienttensile strength in the skirt to, in and of itself, produce an operativebinding and sealing action around the bottle neck Without reliance uponthe rigidity of the paper or its binding adhesive.

4. The combination with a glass bottle hav ing a head and a restrictedneck, of a cover- .all cap formed of pliable, non-rigid, paperli e inand of itself,- produce an'operat-ive binding and sealing action aroundthe bottle neck 10 without reliance upon the rigidity of the paper orits binding adhesive.

In testimony signature.

whereof I hereunto attix my ALEXANDER MELDRUM.

